Rs 35b project for Mangla Dam resettletment

12 June 2007The Daily Times

Mirpur: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Minister for Mangla Dam Affairs Chaudhry Muhammad Yousaf has said that an integrated project at a cost of Rs 35 billion has been launched for the resettlement of the people displaced by the Mangla Dam raising project. Yousaf expressed these views while addressing a ceremony arranged by the Mangla Dam Extension Liaison Committee here late on Monday. AJK Government Education Advisor Naheed Tariq, Committee Chairman Raja Muhammad Azam Khan, Committee General Secretary Sardar Rasheed Jamaal, Dr Amin Chaudhry, Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf and others also spoke on the occasion. Yousaf said the Mangla Dam project under construction would open new vistas of economic progress and prosperity in AJK. He said an integrated plan for the resettlement and rehabilitation for the people affected by the project had been launched through the allocation of about Rs 35 billion. He said the affected families were being provided with the agreed upon financial compensation for their properties. He said the AJK government was determined to safeguard all the due rights of the people affected by the dam raising project and that the process for settling the displaced families would be completed within the stipulated time. He said the present government had prioritised the rehabilitation of the people displaced by the Mangla Dam raising project, adding that all necessary measures were being taken in this regard. He said the Resettlement Organisation of Mangla Dam Affairs was engaged in ensuring the timely rehabilitation of the people.